


Caught in Time

by tobeconspicuous



Series: ChronoGuard [1]
Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, First Kiss, M/M, Rita Calhoun is mentioned - Freeform, Star-crossed, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-25
Updated: 2018-10-25
Packaged: 2019-08-07 02:30:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16399664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tobeconspicuous/pseuds/tobeconspicuous
Summary: By his own estimation he still had seven minutes to plant the bomb in the boardroom and escape before the ChronoGuard tracked the traces he would have left in the timestream.





	Caught in Time

**Author's Note:**

> This is gonna be epic.
> 
> Inspired by the prompt “Time travel + star-crossed lovers - Bangan” from ChameleonCircuit.
> 
> Loosely based on the card game Chrononauts with some terminology borrowed from the Thursday Next series.
> 
> Special thanks to Bulletproof-Love for betaing (and bettering) this fic. They also helped me plot the series that this ended up turning into.
> 
> And thanks to BarbaEsparza & Darkmoore for lending an ear and their support as I wrote this fic.
> 
> I do not own, only enjoy, and I hope you do too. Feedback is very much appreciated

As Trevor Langan glanced at his ChronoWatch, his mouth curled into a frown. By his own estimation he still had seven minutes to plant the bomb in the boardroom and escape before the ChronoGuard tracked the traces he would have left in the timestream.

However something didn’t feel right.

Breaking into the building had been too easy, no one had stopped to check his ID, or question why he was there. An uneasiness settled heavy in the pit of his stomach.

Briefcase in hand, he strode forward, his grip tightening around the handle. The bomb inside was silently ticking away, counting down the minutes until it was time to detonate and if everything went to plan, to kill it’s intended target.

He made his way through the building, the floor plan etched into his mind. Up the stairs, down the corridor, until he finally reached the boardroom. It was larger than he expected, a grand circular wooden table stood in the centre surrounded by ornately carved chairs. Trevor quickly moved to the far end of the room. He kneeled down and opened the briefcase.

The bomb was simple in design, sleek and unnoticeable. With trembling hands Trevor slowly lifted the bomb from the briefcase and glanced at the timer. He had twenty minutes left. He carefully slid the bomb beneath the table, before pressing the button and listening for the soft beep which indicated it was attached.

The sound of footsteps outside the door made Trevor pause, the sound of his heartbeat thrummed in his ears. Soon they faded into the distance and Trevor allowed himself to breathe easy once more. Snapping the briefcase shut, he slowly rose to his feet and quickly left the room. 

As Trevor made his way back through the building his heart began to race. He had spent weeks memorising the floorplan of the building, he should have easily found his way. Instead the hallways twisted before him, his palms began to sweat. Trevor glanced down at his watch, fifteen minutes until the bomb went off. He needed to find an exit, now.

Left, right, right, then left again.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he finally stepped through the gilded glass doors and out into the harsh daylight.

Head held high, Trevor strode across the courtyard towards a familiar large, portly man who was waiting for him. When he finally reached his contact he kneeled down, pretending to tie his shoe lace.

“Können Sie mir bitte sagen wie spät es ist?” The man asked, gesturing at the unusual watch on Trevor’s wrist.

Trevor glanced at the watch before responding. “Noch fünf Minuten.” 

His contact nodded once before he glanced at his own watch and walked away. Trevor breathed a sigh of relief. It was over.

As much as Trevor wanted to watch the fireworks, he needed to leave. He took one last glance at the building before he turned on his heel and began to walk away. Trevor tried not to look too pleased with himself when he heard the explosion in the distance signalling the completion of his mission. His target was finally dead.

“I wouldn’t look so content if I was you.”

Trevor froze at the sound of that all too familiar voice, his stomach filling with dread. As he turned slowly he inhaled sharply. “Rafael--”

“Barba,” he corrected.

Rafael Barba looked exactly as Trevor remembered. He was dressed in the traditional unassuming charcoal suit of the ChronoGuard, though Rafael had never been one to just blend in. Instead of the standard crisp, white collared shirt, his had horizontal grey stripes. His tie perfectly matched, black with diagonal pale grey stripes. A single red rose was pinned to his lapel, drawing attention from the black pocket square dotted with white, which was neatly sitting upon his breast.

“Barba,” Trevor carefully repeated, his free hand slowly moving to the ChronoWatch on his wrist. “It’s been a while.”

“That it has,” Rafael humoured, his eyes following Trevor’s hands. “I didn’t expect to find you here.” 

“Why not?” Trevor humoured him. “Surely the agency would have advised you the moment I went rogue.”

Trevor carefully flicked the latch which released the steel cover of his ChronoWatch. If he needed to, he would be able to quickly flick open the cover, activate the device and make his escape. That was if Rafael would let him. 

“Obviously,” Rafael scoffed. “But I didn’t expect you to become a terrorist.”

Terrorist. The word washed over Trevor and settled like a knot in his stomach.

When they had both started at the academy, wide eyed and fresh faced, they were told exactly what they were up against. Temporal Terrorists, whose only goal was to wreak havoc on the timeline, to destroy the lives of all those in their paths. They spent their years training, learning to recognise the signs of event alterations, potential paradoxes, and how to set the timeline right again.

It wasn’t until his second year out on the field that Trevor started to have doubts. It was one thing to stop someone from interfering with the conception of their bully. But to save the lives of dictators? Despots who were responsible for the death and torture of millions? It had never sat right with Trevor. Then one of his fellow ChronoGuards went missing, captured by the enemy and probably tortured. Or so they had been told. 

Trevor then stumbled across his colleague, sitting on a park bench tracking their target. He had listened to his training, he had taken note of their location and headed straight back to the office. That was when he was told that Rita Calhoun had gone rogue.

He shouldn’t have been as surprised as he was. He and Rita had spent many evenings after work drinking and lamenting the effectiveness of the ChronoGuard. Rafael had joined them on occasion, scoffing in disdain at their musings. When Rita and Trevor wondered what would happen if they didn’t diffuse the bomb or stop a stray bullet. As they pondered how many lives would be saved. 

That evening Trevor had found himself at their usual haunt, nursing a lonesome beer. Rafael had soon joined him, his long fingers wrapped around a glass of scotch. They spoke of Rita, how the ChronoGuard would never be the same without her. One drink turned into two and soon Trevor felt Rafael’s hand wrap around his collar and draw him into a clumsy kiss.

The press of Rafael’s lips upon his own was unexpected. Rafael clearly felt his hesitation. As he began to pull away, Trevor lifted his hands and rested them upon Rafael’s shoulders, deepening the kiss. Electricity sparked through Trevor as Rafael wound his fingers through Trevor’s hair. Trevor pulled away for a moment to look into his sparkling green eyes, running his thumb lightly over Rafael’s cheek.

They parted that evening with content smiles and a promise to meet again the following week. A promise Trevor ended up breaking.

Trevor stood tall, refusing to be intimidated by the glare that sent shivers down his spine. Even though he towered over Rafael, the ChronoGuard still managed to make him feel small in comparison. There was so much Trevor wanted to say to him, but Rafael always had the sharper tongue.

“Give me a reason as to why I shouldn't take you down right here.”

So many answers danced on the tip of Trevor’s tongue. He was trying to save millions of people from being murdered, he was working towards the greater good. His reasons seemed to pale in comparison to what he actually wanted to say to Rafael.

Instead he took a step forward and reached out, watching for a sign from Rafael that the contact was unwanted. When nothing happened Trevor ran his fingers over soft tanned skin, before allowing his fingers to tangle in the soft hairs at the back of Rafael’s head.

If only he was brave enough to rock forward, to close the gap. He would capture Rafael’s mouth, he would pour everything he wanted to say into the kiss. Instead Trevor stepped back, his heart aching.

“Because you know it’s the right thing to do,” he forced a sad smile.

Before Rafael could react, Trevor turned on his heel and fled. He only had a few moments, Rafael would soon be on his tail. Trevor’s heart pounded loudly, drowning out the noise of his own heavy footsteps as they crashed against the concrete beneath him. He lifted his wrist and flicked open the cover of his ChronoWatch. As Trevor twisted the pieces, altering the face, his pace began to slow. In moments he would be in another time, in another place, on another day.

“Langan,” he heard Rafael’s familiar voice cry out. “Wait.”

It was too late.

Already Trevor could feel the familiar lick of sparks spiralling up his arm, warning him that he was about to travel. His stomach clenched as he felt his entire form hum, he only had moments left. Rafael was so close, but he would never reach him before he disappeared.

Trevor’s heart beat against his ribcage. He closed his eyes, drawing a deep breath as a sad smile curled onto his face. “See you next time.”

His entire body shuddered as Rafael’s scowling face flicked out of existence. There was only a few moments of suspension, the strange sensation of weightlessness as the time stream realigned itself. It only lasted a moment until he was jerked from behind and spat out at his desired location, he hit the ground hard, landing on his side. A groan escaped as Trevor rose to his feet, landings were always rough.

He brushed himself off and glanced at his ChronoWatch, fifteen minutes until he needed to meet Rita. Then he would find out if his mission had been successful. Not that it mattered, there was always a new despot or dictator to overthrow, always another chance. They had to keep moving if they didn’t want the ChronoGuard to locate them in the stream.

Time always has a way of catching up to you.

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, the German doesn’t make sense. ;)


End file.
